The Shadow Game
by CurbItKirby
Summary: Sean makes a friend at the aquarium... well, kind of. Banshee/OC ONESHOT


Sean liked fish. It was only natural he want to share his interests with his new found friends, so when Xavier proposed a trip to the aquarium, he was, in short, ecstatic. What he did not account for, however, was Alex and Hank totally ruining his fun with their arguing.

"-are stupid."

"Dolphins are one of the smartest creatures on the planet."

"They're still fish."

"They are not!"

"They live in the ocean, don't they?"

"That doesn't make them fish!"

The redhead glared at the yellow fish in front of him. They swam without care, and were unknowingly capturing the young man's envy. Fish didn't have to listen to this shit. Strangers didn't have to listen to this shit. _He _shouldn't have to listen to this shit.

Heaving a sigh, he leaned back. The fish were slowly drifting away from him, giving him a window into the room across from them. The aquarium was filled with these picture window rooms. The interior designers had been going for a maze like look, and frankly they achieved it with the interweaving, interlocking rooms. It was an odd idea, but Sean liked it well enough.

"-like dolphins so much why don't you marry one?"

"That's bestiality, Alex!"

"So? Your big kangaroo feet wouldn't know the difference!"

"What do my feet have to do with anything?"

Sean watched the people in the other room come and go as they pleased. Soon it was empty except for a lone body that waved a small crowd on. The boy cocked a brow as the person, clearly a young woman, stepped into view. Apparently not timid in the slightest, she raised a hand to the redhead across from her.

Sean glanced behind him. Alex and Hank were still bickering over the finer points of just how one would go about making love to a dolphin, so she was certainly waving at him. He turned back to find her laughing at him. A blush crossed his pale features and with a cocky smirk, he wiggled his fingers back to her. Sean supposed she was about his age, dressed for winter, and tinted a bluish colour from the water separating them.

She raised her hand. He raised his. She flexed her fingers. He flexed his. A bright smile crossed her soft features and she hopped once. With a sprightly grin of his own, Banshee mimicked her.

"-right, Sean?"

The redhead glanced over at his friends, who were looking expectantly at him. They had apparently not noticed his antics. "Uh…right."

Alex smirked arrogantly as Hank gaped at him. "You can't really mean that?"

"He's allowed to have his own opinion, big foot!"

"You are such a child!"

His word said (although admittedly he didn't know just what had been agreed upon) Sean turned back to the young woman in front of him. She was unaware of his staring, focusing all her effort on shoving a pair of gloves into her already overstuffed jacket pockets. Xavier's student took this opportunity to study her a bit closer. True, she was a bit obscured by the water (and the odd butterfly fish) and her mop of blonde hair somewhat blurred her features, but he thought she was rather pretty. Dark circles under her eyes and all.

The girl clapped her hands together, seeming rather pleased with herself that she attempted to stuff both gloves in to one pocket, and looked up to find him staring expectantly at her. He raised a hand. She did the same. The gloves dropped to the floor, forgotten for the time being.

Sean smirked and it widened as she mirrored it. Putting two hands together, the boy grinned evilly as he began to rub them together. With an arched brow, she curiously followed suit. She picked up the speed when he did, and caught on. Now it was simply a battle of wills as they both fought against the friction heat in their palms.

After a few seconds, her nose scrunched up in pain and she jerked her hands apart. Sean chuckled as she stuck her tongue out at him. Hands on her hips, she seemed to calm rather quickly. Glad the young stranger wasn't mad, the mutant did the same; curling his hands into fists and propping them on his hips femininely. A wry smile crossed her lips as she bent her knees. With a tilted head, the red haired boy did the same. She lifted her left foot, he lifted his right.

The girl on the other side stood straight, foot still up, and waited for him to do the same. When he did, she quickly turned to the left.

That was when Sean realized it was very quiet in the room. He turned to his right as indicated and found two very confused young men staring at him. He quickly dropped his hands from his waist and cleared his throat sheepishly. He snuck a glance out of the corner of his eye to find the blonde laughing at him. She even had the audacity to point.

A rush of heat came over his cheeks and he cleared his throat. Turning to his friends, he asked, "Uh, what's up, guys?"

"What the hell was that?" Alex asked with a smirk. "What? Were you so lonely you started playing with your reflection?"

"I was not playing with my reflection!" Sean snapped at him. His cheeks still dark, he pointed to the water. "I was playing with her!"

Hank shared a doubtful glance with the blond beside him. Together, the pair approached the large tank and peered across to the other side. After a moment of staring curiously, they shared another glance; this one wary.

"Uh…are you sure you're feeling okay, Sean?" The scientist asked with a hint of concern.

"Of course I am!"

"Really?" Alex went on skeptically, "'Cause, I don't see anyone over there… much less any girls worth playing with."

The look on the redhead's face would've been almost funny, if the one that followed it hadn't been of sheer rage. His expression had gone from dumbfounded as he looked across the clear blue water to find an empty space to an almost blinding anger as he realized the strange girl had left him alone to explain the insanity to his friends.

He stomped his foot childishly, shouting, "Goddamn it!" The ginger pointed firmly at Hank. "Stay right there! I'm going after her!"

"What?" The boy's eyes widened as Sean left. He watched Alex turn to follow, and asked with a hint of indignity, "You're just going to leave me here?"

The blond clapped him on the shoulder. With a smirk, he reminded him, "We gotta be able to see you to know if we're in the right place, big foot."

The boys ran off, leaving Hank to pout, in search of the mysterious girl the ginger supposedly saw. They passed by Erik and Charles, who paid them no mind. They were too busy discussing the ethics of housing fish in the same tanks as sharks for the publics amusement. Moira and Raven were a touch more curious.

The blonde grabbed Sean by the arm as he ran by them. "Hey! Where's the fire?"

"Not now, Mystique!" He brushed her off and returned to his search.

Raven turned to Alex. After the first six rooms, he was admittedly losing interest and starting to doubt Sean's sanity. He held up a hand. With a sigh, he explained, "Sean took some acid while we weren't looking. Just ignore him."

Moira gaped at him. "What?"

"What? It's not my fault!"

"How could you be so irresponsible?"

Alex flushed at the scalding. Who did this chick think she was? He was a hardened criminal for Christ's sake! "Hey! Hank's supposed to be the adult here, not me!"

None of them noticed the ginger getting lost in the aquarium. He raced through perhaps a dozen rooms, sparing some only peeks inside while he ran through others. Hope slowly fading, he trotted through the last room he could find. Unsurprisingly, Hank was there. Well, sort of. The bespeckled young man waved sheepishly at him through the glass.

Sean sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. All that running for nothing. He sulked over to a bench pressed against the wall. The redhead all but fell on to it. The romantic in him wanted to continue the chase, but the pessimist in him told him she'd probably run off with whoever she'd come with. He wasn't sure why he was so obsessed. Probably had something to do with the fact that everyone around him was getting some. Hank was hooking up with Raven, Alex had a prison penpal(although Sean could admit, he did not want a penpal. He wanted a flesh and blood woman) and he didn't even want to think about what was going on between Erik, Charles and Moira.

He raised his head when Alex finally followed in after him. The blond took one glance at the pouting man and sighed. It was fun taunting Hank. It was not so fun taunting Sean. Hank didn't look nearly as pathetic when he pouted. He frowned at the redhead and rolled his eyes. "Come on. Moira tattled on us and now Chuck's rounding up the troops."

Sean stood and moved to stomp dramatically out of the room when Alex's casual tone cut made him pause.

"Don't forget your gloves."

With furrowed brows, Sean looked back to find a lone pair of black gloves lying on the dirty floor. His eyes widened to an almost comical state and his pout shifted to a grin as he snatched them from the floor.

"Yes!" Sean pointed an accusing finger at a very confused Alex. "I told you!"

"That you dropped your gloves?"

"That she was real!" The redhead almost jumped for joy, but he managed to restrain himself.

Alex quirked a brow. "Those could belong to anybody."

"No! They belong to…" Sean pursed his lips and flipped one of the gloves inside out. "L. Tellen…" He read the address below quickly and told him that she was from the college campus just outside town.

"That's great, Sean. Let's stalk her." When the redhead eyes lit up, Alex shot him down. "_No_. No, we are not going to stalk her, Sean. I'm not going back to prison because you're a horny fuck."

Sean pouted at him. Holding the gloves up, he begged, "Please?"

"Ask Charles."

**A/N: Weird place to end, I know. Hope no one was OOC. Series?**


End file.
